Electric railway gate



.- Nov. 30,1926.

- 1,609,172 B. E. JEINNING'S ET AL ELECTRIC RAILWAY GATE Filed Jan. .261924 2 Sheets-Sheei l JfaYq/l M 72 Wis;

@ W E Q Nov. 30 1926.

B. E. JENNINGS ET AL ELECTRI C RAILWAY GATE Filed Jan. 26., 1924 2Sneets-Sheei 2 Patented Nov. 30, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BERT E. JENNINGS AND HAROLD W. JENNINGS, 0F RICHMOND, INDIANA.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY GATE.

Application filed January 26, 1924.. Serial No. 688,653.

The object of our present invention, broadly speaking, is toprovide anautomatic railway gate for grade crossings, the same being simple incharacter, strong and durable in construction, automatic in operation,not liable to become inoperative through wear or by reason of climaticconditions, and which can bemanufactured, installed, and sold at acomparative low price.

More specifically stated our object is to provide for railway andhighway crossings, with means whereby when the railway is clear the gatewill be out of operative position where it will not obstruct thehighway, but which will be automatically moved across the highway when atrain is approaching the highway whereby the highway will be blocked,and which will be automatically moved from across the highway as thetrain moves thereover, by which the highway traffic will always beinformed of the near approach of a train upon the railway, therebydispensing with the usual traffic watchman and reducing the danger ofthe crossing to a minimum.

Other minor objects and particular advantages of the invention willsuggest themselves in the course of the following description, and thatwhich is new will be pointed out in. the claims.

One manner of carrying out the principles of our invention in apractical manner is shown in the accompanying two-sheets of drawings, inwhich-Figure 1 is a side elevation of our invention, showing portions ofa railway and a highway, in which the gate is retrieved or out ofoperative position. Figure 2 shows the same, except that the gate isshown extended into operative position. Figure 8 is a top plan view ofthe same parts as shown in Fig. 2. Figure 4 is a vertical section, astaken on the line l'l: of 5.- Figure 5 is a horizontal section, astaken-on the line 5-5.0f Fig. 1. F igure 6 is. a vertical. section ofthe post, showing the rack therein inv elevation. .Figure 7 is asideelevation of the actuating arm and one. of-the plates. LFigureB isiaside view of the stationary bearing for the,;;gate.

Similar characters denote like parts throughout theseveral views.

In'order that the construction, the operation, and theseveral advantagesof themrentic n may be fully understood and .apprv ciated, we will nowtake up a detailed description thereof, in which we will set forth thesame as comprehensively as we may.

In the drawings letter A denotes the road way, or highway, letters B andC denote the two rails of the railway, and D denotes the railway ties.

The invention proper comprises a base 1, formed preferably of concrete,on which is rigidly mounted the block or box 2, which forms a supportfor the motor, hereinafter referred to. Said box 2 may be formed hollowand provided with a door to provide a receptacle for tools or materialor for other purposes. Numeral 3 denotes a hollow metal post, whoselower end is secured to the base 1, from which it extends up vertically,being secured at one side to the box 2 which forms a brace therefor. Aslot 4 is formed vertically through the upper portion of the right-handside of the post 3, for the purpose hereinafter stated. Located,slidably, in the post 3 is a straight gear-rack 5, whose back is inslidable contact with the inner face of the right-hand side of the post3, with the gear-teeth directed to the left. Said rack is considerablyshorter than the post 3, but it is almost as wide as the space inside ofthe post, that is between the near and far walls of the post 3.

Secured to the back of the upper portion of the rack 5 is the movablehanger 6, which extends out through the slot 4, for the purposehereinafter set forth.

A fixed hanger 7 is located directly below the hanger 6, and it extendsout from the right-hand face of the post 3, with which it is rigidlyconnected.

The gate proper is in the nature of lazytongs construction, and it isadapted to extend out-horizontally to the right, and is designated bythe numeral 8.

.Tlieend of the upwardly extending left arm, of thegate 8 is pivoted tothefhanger 6, while .the corresponding downwardly extending. .left arrnof the. gate 8 is pivotedto thehanger 7. w

"It will now be seen thatiif the rack?) be moved upwardly that the gate8 will .collapse, Ithat is it willfold together as in Figs. 1, 4 5 ;vwhileif the; rack be moved downwardly the, gate .w'illlbe :caused toextend outwardly .to the. right, as in Figs. 1 2. and 3. The. length of.the -gate.8. is such. that when it is fully extended it will reachacross the roadway A as shown.

A housing 9, comprising two sides and a top, open at the right, issecured to the right-hand side of the post 3, into which the gate fullyenters when it is in folded position, to protect the gate from snow andice and from injury.

Secured on the box 2 is a reversible electric motor 10, that is it willoperate in either direction, depending on the direction in which theelectric current is directed, that is, whether it enters the motorthrough the terminal E or F. Said motor is adapted to rotate the shaft Gwhich extends to the left therefrom as shown. F denotes a third terminalof the motor, with a ground wire F leading therefrom, as shown in Fig.5. The terminals E and F lead to two portions of the field windings ofthe motor, while the terminal F leads from the armature of the motor tothe ground.

Secured on the outer, left, end of the shaft G is the bevel pinion 11. Abearing 12 is provided for the shaft G and it extends up from the top ofthe box 2 and supports said shaft.

Located on the same plane as the shaft G, but at right angles thereto,is the shaft 13, which is mounted in the bearing 15 which extends fromthe near side of the post 3 as shown.

Located to the left of the motor 10, and secured on the shaft 13, is thebevel gear wheel 16 which meshes with the bevel pinion 11.

Located within the post 3 and secured on the shaft 13 is the pinion 17which meshes with the rack 5.

Secured on the far side of the post 3 is a bearing 19, for carrying theend of the shaft 13, as shown.

Secured. on the top of the box 2 and enclosing the motor 10, the bevelpinion 11, the bevel gear 16, and the bearings 12 and 15, is the housing18, whereby said parts are protected from the weather and unauthorizedinterference.

Located a considerable distance from the gate-mechanism above describedare four contact plates or frogs 20, 21, 22 and 23, which are secured ontop of certain of the ties D, from which they are insulated, beinglocated parallel with and near the inner sides of the rails B and C, butnot in contact therewith, and extending slightly thereahove, and theirends are formed rounding so that anything moving thereover will notcatch on the ends thereof.

Extending from the plate 20 to the terminal. post E is the wire 24.Leading from the plate 21 to the terminal post F is the wire 25.Extending from the plate 22 to the terminal post E is the wire 26. And lkewise leading from the plate 23 to the terminal post- F is the wire 27.It of course is understood that said wires are carried in conduits orotherwise insulated where they will not lose electric current betweentheir ends.

The electric current entering the motel through the terminal post E,that is through the wires 24 or 26, will operate the motor to turn theshaft G to the right, whereby manifestly the rack 5 will be drivendownward, thereby extending the gate 8 to the position shown in Figs. 2and 3. On the other hand if electric current enters the motor throughthe terminal post F, through the wires 25 and 27 then the motor willoperate to turn the shaft G to the left, which will drive the rack 5upward, thereby drawing the gate back into the housing 9.

Located in the post 3 are the switches 34 and 35, top and bottomrespectively, which are controlled by the respective arms 36 and 37.Said switches are normally retained in contact position by therespective springs 38 and 39. It will be seen that as the rack 5 reachesa height to fully collapse the gate 8 it will engage the arm 36,pressing it upward against the resiliency of the spring 38 therebycutting off the power to the motor, and when the bar 5 reaches itslowest point, that is when the gate is fully extended, it will cut offthe power to the motor, thereby stopping the motor when the gate is atits limit of movement in either direction.

It is to be understood that the negative post of the motor 10 isgrounded, in any well known manner. Also the negative post of thebattery, (not shown) which supplies the electric current, is alsogrounded in the usual manner. By reason of the above it will beunderstood that the electric current may travel from the positive postof the battery, through the wire 33, when the roller is in contact withone of the plates 20, 21, 22 or 23, and then pass through one of thewires 24:, 25, 26 or 27, to the motor 10, and 3:

from the latter returning to the battery through said ground connectionsand the ground, thereby completing the circuit.

Referring now to Fig. 7: Numeral 28 denotes a hanger, which may besecured to the underside of a. locomotive or a railway-car. Pivoted tothe hanger 28 is the movable arm 29, which has a roller 30 mounted. onits lower end. Said arm is so connected to the hanger 28 that it alwaysinclines rearward i and downward as shown. Extending down from thehanger 28 is a finger 31, with a spring 32 connecting its lower end withthe arm 29, said spring always being under tension in order to retainthe arm forward to its limit, except when the roller 30 is engaged withsomething, as the plate 20, for instance. Extending from said arm 29 isa wire 33, which should lead to a source of electricenergy, asforinstance a storage battery located in connection with the locomotive orcar "by which the arm 29 is carried. The arm 29 is, of course, insulatedfrom the hanger 28, in any well known manner.

In practice it is intended that the arm 29 shall always travel in thedirection indicated by the arrow in Fig. 7.

In order to make clear the operation of the invention we will assumethat the plates 20 and 23 are located some distance, for instance ahalf-mile to the left of the crossing shown; while the plates 21 and 22are located a like distance to the right, the gate being retrieved orclosed, that is as in Figs. 1, 4t and 5.

Now as a train approaching from the left, carrying the arm 29, it willbe seen that the roller will form a contact with the plate 20, therebyestablishing an electric connection between the battery carried by thetrain with the motor 10, thereby causing the motor to operate to theright which will cause the rack 5 to be lowered and the gate willtherefore be extended across the highway A, thereby blocking trafic onthe highway until the roller 30 engages the plate 21, at which time theelectric current will again enter'the motor but in such direction thatthe motor will be operated in the opposite direction, thereby causingthe rack 5 to be raised and thereby closing the gate, that is drawing itback into its housing, and again opening the roadway.

lVhen the train is approaching from the right the same operations willtranspire, that is the roller 30 will first engage the plate 22, causingthe gate to be extended and then engaging plate 23 causing the gate tobe drawn back into its housing.

The lengths of the plates 20, 21, 22 and 23 are such as to cause themotor to operate during the approximate time necessary to open or toclose the gate.

It has not been the purpose of this specification to enter into all ofthe details of the several parts or to specify exact proportions orsizes, as there may be various changes made therein, but rather tooutline the various principles involved whereby an ordinary mechanic mayconstruct the same to meet various conditions in a practical manner.

While we have shown our construction applied to a railway and a highwaycrossing we do not wish to be limited thereto, as the same principle maybe applied to two railways crossing each other, or to two highwayscrossing each other.

Having now fully shown and described our invention, what we claim anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is,

An automatic crossing gate, comprising in combination, a post, a basefor the post, a motor-container mounted on the base, a reversible motormounted in the motor container, a rack adapted to slide vertically inthe post, a sliding contact for the back of the rack, a hanger carriedby the upper end of the rack and extending outward through a slot in thepost, a fixed hanger extending out from the lower part of the post, alazytong gate having one arm thereof connected to the first mentionedhanger and another arm connected to the lower fixed hanger, a housingcarried by the post and adapted to receive the gate in collapsedcondition, a shaft adapted to be rotated by said motor, asmall bevelpinion carried by said shaft, a main shaft at right-angles to the motorshaft, a large bevel gear carried by the main.

shaft and meshing with the small bevel pinion, a plain pinion alsocarried by the main shaft and meshing with said rack whereby the rackwill be raised and lowered by the operation of the motor, means locatedat a distance from the post for causing the motor to operate in onedirection, and means located at a distance from the post to cause themotor to operate in the opposite direction, and means for automaticallyshutting olf the electric current to said motor when the rack reacheseither its upward or clown- Ward limit of movement.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names.

BERT E. JENNINGS. HAROLD W. JENNINGS.

